GREAT WESTERN Railway began a year-long trial of its fast-charge Class 230 train on the branch line between Greenford and West Ealing in mid-March.
An event was held at West Ealing on March 15 to demonstrate the technology and showcase the groundbreaking project which could help to transform branch lines around the country, as the railway looks to phase out diesel-only traction by 2040.
The trial will see the three-coach train, converted from former London Underground D78 Stock, operated on the Greenford branch for the next year. This is to test the battery and charging technology in a range of real-life scenarios and operating the train in different environmental conditions. While the Class 230 train will not be operated in passenger service initially, this could be introduced later in the project as part of the testing for the train.
The train, 230001 Viva Venturer, made its first demonstration runs under battery power as part of the COP26 conference in Scotland in 2021. The technology involves a trackside charging system with trickle-fed battery energy storage, operated alongside short charging rails and an interlock system that can be installed in a matter of hours, with the fast-charge shoe-gear beneath the train connecting the Class 230 to the charging rails. The train can be charged in around four-minutes at stations where the fast-charge equipment is located.
GWR signed a formal agreement with Vivarail in February 2022 to trial the fast-charge technology on the Greenford branch. However, the scheme has not been without its challenges. When Vivarail entered administration in December 2022, agreement had to be reached between the Department for Transport and GWR to buy the rolling stock that Vivarail owned at Long Marston, as well as the intellectual property behind the technology to allow the trial to go ahead under the auspices of GWR. The train operator also employed the former Vivarail engineers who worked on the technology development.
Following the installation of the lineside trickle-charge battery equipment and fast-charge rails at West Ealing, the train was transferred to Reading from Long Marston on February 16. Testing of the unit on the branch got underway from the end of February, with initial trials surpassing the expectations o
